How Do You If You Have Hemorrhoids

How Can I Treat Hemorrhoids At Home

Hemorrhoids often go away on their own without treatment. Symptoms like pain and bleeding may last one week or slightly longer. In the meantime, you can take these steps to ease symptoms:

• Apply over-the-counter medications containing lidocaine, witch hazel or hydrocortisone to the affected area.
• Drink more water.
• Increase fiber intake through diet and supplements. Try to obtain at least 20-35 grams of daily fiber intake
• Soak in a warm bath for 10 to 20 minutes a day.
• Soften stool by taking laxatives.
• Take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pain and inflammation.
• Use toilet paper with lotion or flushable wet wipes to gently pat and clean your bottom after pooping. You can also use a tissue or washcloth moistened with water.

How To Tell If You Have Hemorrhoids

You may shudder at the word hemorrhoid for many reasons. Perhaps you have experienced hemorrhoids first-hand, or have heard about them from someone who has experienced them. No matter the circumstance, you may not like to talk about it. However, hemorrhoids are quite common in middle and later life.1 In fact, most people by age 50 have experienced one or more of the symptoms of hemorrhoids, which include rectal pain, itching, and bleeding.2

If youve been wondering how to tell if you have hemorrhoids, here we explain more about the common causes and symptoms one can experience if they do have hemorrhoids. Read on to learn more about hemorrhoids and what to do if you have them.

Hemorrhoid Home Remedies: Warm Sitz Bath

A sitz bath refers to sitting in a few inches of warm water three times a day for 15 to 20 minutes. A sitz bath may help decrease the inflammation of hemorrhoids. Drying off the anal area completely after each sitz bath is important for minimizing moisture that irritates the skin surrounding your rectal area.

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What Are The Types Of Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids can happen inside or outside the rectum. The type depends on where the swollen vein develops. Types include:

• External: Swollen veins form underneath the skin around the anus. Your anus is the canal where poop comes out. External hemorrhoids can be itchy and painful. Occasionally, they bleed. Sometimes they fill with blood that can clot. This is not dangerous, but can result in pain and swelling.
• Internal: Swollen veins form inside the rectum. Your rectum is the part of the digestive system that connects the colon to the anus. Internal hemorrhoids may bleed, but they usually arent painful.
• Prolapsed: Both internal and external hemorrhoids can prolapse, meaning they stretch and bulge outside of the anus. These hemorrhoids may bleed or cause pain.

What Are The Symptoms Of Hemorrhoids Are They Painful

It depends on the type of hemorrhoids you have, Dr. Nelson says. If you have external hemorrhoids, youll probably have the following symptoms:

• anal itching
• one or more hard, tender lumps near your anus
• an anal ache or pain that you feel or gets worse when you sit

If you have internal hemorrhoids, youll likely have these symptoms:

• bleeding from your rectum
• a hemorrhoid that has fallen through your anus, which is called prolapse

Hemorrhoids, for the most part, do not cause pain when you have a bowel movement, says Rudolph Bedford, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. However, if you have a prolapsed hemorrhoid, you can also experience swelling and pain if it doesnt go back inside your body, Dr. Nelson says.

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Can Hemorrhoids Be Prevented

You can help prevent hemorrhoids by:

• Eating foods that are high in fiber
• Taking a stool softener or a fiber supplement
• Drinking enough fluids every day
• Not straining during bowel movements
• Not sitting on the toilet for long periods of time

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

What Causes Rectal Cancer

Rectal cancer usually develops over several years, first growing as a precancerous growth called a polyp. Some polyps have the ability to turn into cancer and begin to grow and penetrate the wall of the rectum. The actual cause of rectal cancer is unclear. However, the following are risk factors for developing rectal cancer:

• Increasing age
• Family history of colon or rectal cancer
• High-fat diet and/or a diet mostly from animal sources
• Personal or family history of polyps or colorectal cancer
• Inflammatory bowel disease

Family history is a factor in determining the risk of rectal cancer. If a family history of colorectal cancer is present in a first-degree relative , then endoscopy of the colon and rectum should begin 10 years before the age of the relatives diagnosis or at age 50 years, whichever comes first. An often forgotten risk factor, but perhaps the most important, is the lack of screening for rectal cancer. Routine cancer screening of the colon and rectum is the best way to prevent rectal cancer.

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Schedule An Appointment Today

Hemorrhoids are incredibly common and can be successfully managed with the right treatments. If youre concerned you have hemorrhoids or if theyre not improving, schedule an appointment with Dr. Heiman in Tampa, FL, today.

Disclaimer: This blog is not intended to substitute professional medical advice. Always talk with your doctor before starting or stopping medications or treatments.

Essential Orgs For Hemorrhoid Information

This site provides a comprehensive review of what hemorrhoids are, what causes them, and how to treat them. In cases when pain is severe and hemorrhoids aren’t healing with at-home treatment, in-office treatment by a healthcare provider is necessary. This can involve surgical and nonsurgical options.

The Mayo Clinic offers trusted guidance on symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of hemorrhoids. You can also find answers to specific questions about home remedies and hemorrhoid treatment during pregnancy.

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Prevent Hemorrhoids In The First Place

To prevent hemorrhoids, stay adequately hydrated and consume a diet rich in fibrous fruits and vegetables and whole grains to keep your bowels regular so you dont strain while on the toilet. Dont delay when you feel the need to defecate, as stalling can lead to hemorrhoids.

Work on achieving a healthy weight and we can help you with this. Exercise regularly, too, as it keeps things moving through your system. If you strain to pass stool, glide a little petroleum jelly around your anus to make it a bit easier.

If you suspect you have hemorrhoids and simple home treatments dont give you relief, dont hesitate to call us at Digestive Disorders Associates. We can rule out more serious causes of your symptoms and help you manage hemorrhoid pain in the least invasive way possible. .

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Blood Clots In The Hemorrhoid

External hemorrhoids can be very painful if they become thrombosed. Thrombosed hemorrhoids are usually purple-blue.

A thrombosed hemorrhoid occurs when the veins that cause the bulge in the hemorrhoid develop a blood clot. As a result, blood is unable to flow to the hemorrhoid, and the effect can be extremely painful.

The body will often absorb the blood clot, therefore reducing the symptoms and easing the pain.

When the blood clot passes or the body reabsorbs it, an external hemorrhoid may sometimes leave behind a perianal skin tag. A doctor may recommend surgical removal if this skin tag regularly catches stool and is difficult to keep clean.

Treatments include home remedies and surgery.

Examples of home remedies people can use to treat hemorrhoids include:

• taking warm baths
• gently cleaning the anus after a bowel movement, often by using moistened wipes or cotton pads
• applying cloth-covered ice packs to reduce swelling
• taking over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, to relieve pain and discomfort
• applying ointments, such as creams with witch hazel or hydrocortisone- that relieve itching

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How Long Does It Take To Recover

Having a bowel movement after any hemorrhoid procedure can be uncomfortable. This is especially true after surgery.

Your doctor will probably want you to have a bowel movement within 48 hours. You may be given a stool-softening medication to make it less painful.

It may take up to four weeks or longer before you can resume your usual activities after a hemorrhoidectomy. Recovering from the less-invasive procedures, such as sclerotherapy, coagulation, and rubber band litigation, may take just a few days. Sclerotherapy and coagulation may take a few sessions to be successful.

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Signs Your Hemorrhoids Warrant A Doctor’s Visit

Your doctor may also check for blood in the stool, examine the muscle tone of your anus, and perform a rectal exam to diagnose internal hemorrhoids. This is done in the doctor’s office with a gloved, lubricated finger and an anoscope . Your doctor may also recommend additional tests to rule out other causes of bleeding, especially if you are over age 40.

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How Are Hemorrhoids Diagnosed

If youve been wondering how to tell if you have hemorrhoids and want an experts opinion, a healthcare provider can perform a physical exam.3 During this physical exam, they can check your anus and rectum for any swollen blood vessels.3 Other types of procedures include a colonoscopy, which is a procedure that checks for any abnormalities in the large intestine.3 A colonoscopy allows the healthcare provider to sample the lining of your colon and treat any problems that may be more serious than a hemorrhoid.3

When Should You See Your Doctor

We spoke with Dr. Lauren R. Wilson, a specialist in colorectal surgery and assistant professor of surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for her input.

If youre having any kind of issue with your bottom, go see your primary care doctor and ask them to take a look. Rectal exams used to be part of an annual physical, but a lot of doctors just dont do them anymore. You need to be open to having an exam and ask them about it.

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What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of An Internal Or Prolapsed Hemorrhoid

Most often, internal hemorrhoids have no symptoms but are only found if there is bleeding with a bowel movement or if the hemorrhoid prolapses so that it can be felt outside of the anus. This may lead to itching and pain as well as the bleeding.

Prolapse of an internal hemorrhoid occurs when the internal hemorrhoids swell and extend from their location in the rectum through the anus. A prolapsed internal hemorrhoid:

• Can be felt as a lump outside the anus
• Can be gently pushed back through the anus, this may resolve the location of the hemorrhoid, but does not fix the hemorrhoid itself
• May enlarge and swell even more if it cannot be pushed back
• May become entrapped, which requires more urgent medical attention

Hemorrhoids may also cause anal itching , and a constant feeling of needing to have a bowel movement .

Internal hemorrhoid severity can be graded:

• Grade I: Prominent blood vessels with no prolapse
• Grade II: Prolapse with bearing down but with spontaneous reduction
• Grade III: Prolapse with bearing down but requiring manual reduction
• Grade IV: Prolapse with inability to manual reduction

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What Are Treatments For Hemorrhoids

The treatment you receive will depend on your symptoms and how severe your piles are. They can be treated with home care measures like increasing fiber intake and topical ointments. There are also medical procedures that can be used, depending on the chart.

The most common treatments include:

• Rubber band ligation, which involves placing rubber bands around your piles that cut off their blood supply until they fall off
• Sclerotherapy, which involves injecting a chemical solution into hemorrhoidal veins to cause them to collapse
• Hemorrhoidectomy
• Infrared coagulation or infrared photocoagulation, which uses laser energy to treat rectal tissue
• Electrical excision, which requires cutting out rectal tissue with an electrical wire looped through a tube-like instrument
• Dilation and curettage involve widening the piles to remove rectal tissue with a balloon-like device known as a dilator.

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Related Conditions And Causes Of Hemorrhoids

Gastrointestinal problems such as constipation and diarrhea can lead to or worsen hemorrhoids. The prolonged sitting or straining that may occur when you’re dealing with these issues puts pressure on the hemorrhoidal tissue.

Hemorrhoids also often develop during pregnancy. This is similarly due to greater pressure in the area but can also be due to an increase in blood volume and as a result of hormonal changes that increase the likelihood of swelling. Constipation during pregnancy is a common cause of hemorrhoids.

When Youre At Greater Risk

Hemorrhoids definitely have a genetic component. If you had parents with the swollen veins, youll likely develop them at some point, too. If youre obese or do a lot of heavy lifting, hemorrhoids can develop. If you experience chronic constipation or strain often during bowel movements, you may end up with hemorrhoids. Pregnancy can also be a time at which youre more susceptible to developing hemorrhoids.

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How To Heal Hemorrhoids: Over

Products used to treat hemorrhoids are available as

• ointments,
• foams, and
• pads.

When used around the anus, ointments, creams, and gels should be applied as a thin covering. When applied to the anal canal, these products should be inserted with a finger or a “pile pipe.” Pile pipes are most efficient when they have holes on the sides as well as at the end. Pile pipes should be lubricated with ointment prior to insertion. Suppositories or foams do not have advantages over ointments, creams, and gels.

Who Gets Hemorrhoids The Most

Well, hemorrhoids tend not to be race, gender or age-specific. Although they can happen in both men and women, they are more common in the adult of age 45 to 65.

Although women frequently develop hemorrhoids during pregnancy, there is actually no studies which determine women to get hemorrhoids more often than men. Men tend to seek treatment for this condition more often than woman though.

If you want a safe, herbal solution for your hemorrhoids, you might want to consider HemRid. This is a great supplement for hemorrhoids. If you are struggling with hemorrhoid pain and want relief, click on the image below to learn more.

Although the exact cause of hemorrhoids is not known, possible factors such as if a person has a family history of hemorrhoids, straining during a bowel movement,

complications from chronic constipation, and sitting for long periods of time can lead to a person being more prone to developing them.

Check out this youtube video…it show how to find out if you have hemorrhoids or not.

A persons diet and constipation is considered to be common causes of a persons developing hemorrhoids. Other risk factors could include obesity, pregnancy, childbirth, constant straining, standing too much with no break, constant anal sexual intercourse, diarrhea, and heavy lifting.

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Anal Fissures Vs Hemorrhoids: The Difference & Treatment Options

If your rear is sore and uncomfortable, I feel your pain. This problem is certainly an unpleasant one, and the sooner you can get it resolved, the better.

The question is: Whats causing the discomfort? Read on to learn about anal fissures vs. hemorrhoids to get a handle on which is giving you trouble. Then, find out what you can do to find relief.

How A Doctor Can Help

Doctors can recommend medical treatments and procedures that can reduce or get rid of hemorrhoids. Some of these procedures can be done right in a doctors office and involve very little discomfort.

• Medicated creams/ointments. If an OTC hemorrhoid cream isnt enough, doctors can prescribe stronger creams and ointments.
• Minimally-invasive procedures. There are some minimally-invasive procedures that a doctor can do in their office or in an ambulatory surgery center that typically doesnt require anesthesia or long recovery times. Some of these procedures include rubber band ligation, sclerotherapy injections, and laser/infrared coagulation treatments.
• Thrombectomy. For severe cases that develop blood clots and cause a lot of pain, your doctor can perform an external hemorrhoid thrombectomy to remove the hemorrhoid. Thrombectomies are most effective when performed no more than 72 hours after severe symptoms emerge.
• Surgery. There are several surgical options available when other treatments and procedures havent worked or if you have very large hemorrhoids. If youve struggled to find relief, talk to your doctor to learn if surgery is right for you.

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How Can I Take Care Of Myself

Always tell your healthcare provider when you have rectal bleeding. Although bleeding is often from hemorrhoids, more serious illnesses, such as colon cancer, can also cause bleeding.

Follow these guidelines to help prevent hemorrhoids and to relieve their discomfort:

• Do not strain during bowel movements. The straining makes hemorrhoids swell.
• Follow your high-fiber diet and drink plenty of water. If necessary, take a stool softener, such as Haley’s M-O, psyllium, Metamucil or Citrucel, or mineral oil. Softer stools make it easier to empty the bowels and reduce pressure on the veins.
• Don’t overuse laxatives. Diarrhea can be as irritating to the anus as constipation.
• Ask your healthcare provider what nonprescription product you should buy to relieve pain and itching. Also, ask about any side effects of any medications prescribed for you.
• Exercise regularly to help prevent constipation.
• Avoid a lot of wiping after a bowel movement if you have hemorrhoids. Wiping with soft, moist toilet paper may relieve discomfort. If necessary, shower instead of wiping, and then dry the anus gently.
• Avoid lifting heavy objects when you have hemorrhoids. It may increase the pressure on the veins and make the hemorrhoids worse.